How could an ex-atheist ever have been an atheist to begin with? - Think Atheist2018-02-22T07:26:50Zhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topics/how-could-an-ex-atheist-ever-have-been-an-atheist-to-begin-with?xg_source=activity&id=1982180%3ATopic%3A1088719&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI think deep down a lot of pe…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2014-08-19:1982180:Comment:14848852014-08-19T14:33:50.134ZDan Ashton Lloydhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/DanAshtonLloyd
<p>I think deep down a lot of people (regardless of once being agnostic or an atheist) know its all bullshit. They just know its easier not to fight the social pressure. </p>
<p>I think deep down a lot of people (regardless of once being agnostic or an atheist) know its all bullshit. They just know its easier not to fight the social pressure. </p> Dear Folks:
I have meet athei…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-31:1982180:Comment:11321922012-05-31T02:11:47.166ZJames Coxhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/JamesCox
<p>Dear Folks:</p>
<p>I have meet atheists that have been in fox holes also!</p>
<p>Dear Folks:</p>
<p>I have meet atheists that have been in fox holes also!</p> I looked up a High School fri…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-30:1982180:Comment:11316422012-05-30T08:58:55.588ZRob Zoghttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RobLewis562
<p>I looked up a High School friend on Facebook. He said the same thing of me about never REALLY having been a Christian. After all: How could a guy that had been born again, washed in the blood of the lamb, now reject it whole heartedly? What had happened to me? It's like the guy claiming to be Jesus talking to a psychiatrist telling him he isn't and both completely convinced the other is insane.</p>
<p>I looked up a High School friend on Facebook. He said the same thing of me about never REALLY having been a Christian. After all: How could a guy that had been born again, washed in the blood of the lamb, now reject it whole heartedly? What had happened to me? It's like the guy claiming to be Jesus talking to a psychiatrist telling him he isn't and both completely convinced the other is insane.</p> That's false. I can't just be…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-30:1982180:Comment:11316962012-05-30T02:57:53.399ZIEatDinosaurMeathttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/TSmith
<blockquote><p><span>That's false. I can't just believe anything based upon the Principle of Credulity, because it's not the case that just any belief seems true to me. If you think that just any belief could seem true to you, then you have fallen into radical skepticism, but I doubt that you think any such thing.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>But it can be applied to anything, and while yes, not just any belief seems true to you, you are not the only one perceiving things and what seems…</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span>That's false. I can't just believe anything based upon the Principle of Credulity, because it's not the case that just any belief seems true to me. If you think that just any belief could seem true to you, then you have fallen into radical skepticism, but I doubt that you think any such thing.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>But it can be applied to anything, and while yes, not just any belief seems true to you, you are not the only one perceiving things and what seems true to one person may not seem true to the next. Thus on the individual basis, any belief can be rationalized using this criterion. Remember also that it was once considered nonsense to imagine the world was round, or that the earth revolved around the sun. Those were beliefs based on what seemed true, and were held by the majority of people.</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span>Again, I don't think it's reasonable to object to my believing that God is relevantly distinct from a tree sprite because it seems true to me that they are relevantly distinct.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>I asked what makes them distinct, I didn't criticize you for believing they are distinct. The fact that one seems real to you and the other seems crazy doesn't make what you're saying any more true or valid. The extreme craziness of tree sprites is not at all relevant and is a reductio ad absurdum. Following the same criterion for a reasonable belief, one can believe in god, gods, tree sprites, a flat earth, mermaids, flying spaghetti monsters.... the list could go on.</p>
<p>And perhaps I'm radically skeptical, but the truth is important to me. More important than the existence of any god or gods. I will start from a skeptical point of view and make my way to beliefs from there. If that is radical skepticism then I would wear that badge proudly.</p> Hello again, IEatDinosaurMeat…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-29:1982180:Comment:11315952012-05-29T23:33:29.586ZWilliam Occamhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/WilliamOccam
<p><span>Hello again, IEatDinosaurMeat.</span></p>
<blockquote><span>It's not a similarity or difference between tree sprites and gods. It is a fact that as an argument, the principle of credulity could be used for anything. By anything I'm not just saying tree sprites, but it also could be applied to flat earth, geocentricism... Get creative, because you can believe anything if you keep following this logic.</span></blockquote>
<p><span>That's false. I can't just believe anything based upon…</span></p>
<p><span>Hello again, IEatDinosaurMeat.</span></p>
<blockquote><span>It's not a similarity or difference between tree sprites and gods. It is a fact that as an argument, the principle of credulity could be used for anything. By anything I'm not just saying tree sprites, but it also could be applied to flat earth, geocentricism... Get creative, because you can believe anything if you keep following this logic.</span></blockquote>
<p><span>That's false. I can't just believe anything based upon the Principle of Credulity, because it's not the case that just any belief seems true to me. If you think that just any belief could seem true to you, then you have fallen into radical skepticism, but I doubt that you think any such thing.</span></p>
<p><span>If we can't employ the Principle of Credulity, then we have nowhere to begin building our structure of knowledge. It's perfectly reasonable to say, at some point, that certain beliefs should be accepted because they seem obviously true and there are no defeaters for them. I'm not sure how else you could do epistemology.</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span><span>What is the basis of the distinction between the tree sprites and god, just that to you personally they don't seem to exist? How is that not subjective?</span></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>Again, I don't think it's reasonable to object to my believing that God is relevantly distinct from a tree sprite because it seems true to me that they are relevantly distinct. At that point, you're essentially criticizing me for having the particular cognitive makeup that I have, which is not something that I can control. I can't help finding belief in tree sprites crazy and belief in God not crazy any more than I can help believing that I am looking at a computer monitor at the moment.</span></p>
<p>I think if you reflect on the notion of God seriously and carefully, there is a good chance that you'll find yourself in agreement with me that the idea of God is not crazy like the idea of a tree sprite is crazy. Do you really think the idea that something conscious created the universe and sustains it is just obviously absurd? I don't see how you could say that.</p> It's not a similarity or diff…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-29:1982180:Comment:11313792012-05-29T22:38:48.448ZIEatDinosaurMeathttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/TSmith
<p>It's not a similarity or difference between tree sprites and gods. It is a fact that as an argument, the principle of credulity could be used for anything. By anything I'm not just saying tree sprites, but it also could be applied to flat earth, geocentricism... Get creative, because you can believe anything if you keep following this logic.</p>
<blockquote><p></p>
<p><span> I just don't think that someone who experiences God needs to be locked up, like someone who experiences a murderous…</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>It's not a similarity or difference between tree sprites and gods. It is a fact that as an argument, the principle of credulity could be used for anything. By anything I'm not just saying tree sprites, but it also could be applied to flat earth, geocentricism... Get creative, because you can believe anything if you keep following this logic.</p>
<blockquote><p></p>
<p><span> I just don't think that someone who experiences God needs to be locked up, like someone who experiences a murderous tree sprite does</span></p>
<p><span><br/></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>What is the basis of the distinction between the tree sprites and god, just that to you personally they don't seem to exist? How is that not subjective?</span></p> Thanks.tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-29:1982180:Comment:11312652012-05-29T16:18:12.327ZWilliam Occamhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/WilliamOccam
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p> I will say I haven't been aro…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-29:1982180:Comment:11313352012-05-29T16:16:14.665ZDoc Feralhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RobKlaers
<p>I will say I haven't been around on here nearly as long as some, but in my short time here I have to say your reply was the one, if not the only, non-combative reply I've seen in these forums by a current theist. If more replies were like that, we'd have far better discussions here with theists. :)</p>
<p></p>
<p>~ Rob </p>
<p>I will say I haven't been around on here nearly as long as some, but in my short time here I have to say your reply was the one, if not the only, non-combative reply I've seen in these forums by a current theist. If more replies were like that, we'd have far better discussions here with theists. :)</p>
<p></p>
<p>~ Rob </p> I think the 'denial' aspect p…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-29:1982180:Comment:11313922012-05-29T16:01:57.772ZDoc Feralhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RobKlaers
<p>I think the 'denial' aspect plays into the Christians view that Atheists are angry with God, so therefore deny his existence as a result. It then allows them to quote chapter and verse why you shouldn't deny God. <br></br><br></br>I can't speak for anyone else, but for me Atheism is a disbelief in the existence of God or god's of any sort across the board. It covers the God of the three major religions along with any gods which predate or follow them all in one shot. I don't believe in Bast or Ra…</p>
<p>I think the 'denial' aspect plays into the Christians view that Atheists are angry with God, so therefore deny his existence as a result. It then allows them to quote chapter and verse why you shouldn't deny God. <br/><br/>I can't speak for anyone else, but for me Atheism is a disbelief in the existence of God or god's of any sort across the board. It covers the God of the three major religions along with any gods which predate or follow them all in one shot. I don't believe in Bast or Ra anymore then I believe in Odin or Thor or the Christian God. <br/><br/>I've been a Atheist for many years, just haven't begun to to embrace it until recently. For me, all gods regardless of the religion involved are nothing more then manifestations of man's own imagination. Tools he uses to explain his existence and in some cases control other men. Nothing more. <br/><br/>That said, I'm sure you've already picked up the fact I think your supposition about being absolutely certain about the non-existence of a God or gods is way off. In my case, I'm not pretending to know anything I'm not privy to. I'm basing it on the record as it now stands-- no prior god or gods were real, so therefore why should I even presume there is an exception to that? ... If the sun has risen every day over the Eastern Horizon for the last 2 billion years, what's to make me think it won't do the same tomorrow or the day after or the day after that? Nothing is there which tells me it won't.. There is no evidence which tells me that it won't continue, just like there isn't any evidence which tells me that any gods of any sort ever existed in any manner. </p> Mabel, I'm afraid I have a po…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-05-29:1982180:Comment:11313342012-05-29T15:03:47.073ZWilliam Occamhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/WilliamOccam
<p>Mabel, I'm afraid I have a policy against sharing the details of my religious experiences on the internet. Sorry. I'd be happy to have a private discussion with you on some other topic related to the existence of God, though, if you're interested.</p>
<p>Mabel, I'm afraid I have a policy against sharing the details of my religious experiences on the internet. Sorry. I'd be happy to have a private discussion with you on some other topic related to the existence of God, though, if you're interested.</p>